Pet-specific feed additive dossiers from the EFSA Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP), identified by strict title-string match for "for pets" / "for pet " / "pet food" / "petfood" / "companion animal" / "companion-animal" in LiteratureReference.EFSAOutputTitle of the DOSSIER sheet in OpenFoodTox 3.0 (Zenodo record 19388272, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.19388272).
| # | Date | Title | FoodDomain | DOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2011-10-13 | Scientific Opinion on the safety and efficacy of sodium bisulphate (SBS) for all animal species as preservative and silage additive | technological additives | doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2011.2415 |
| 2 | 2013-10-10 | Scientific Opinion on the safety and efficacy of L-cysteine hydrochloride monohydrate as a flavouring additive for pets | sensory additives | doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2013.3437 |
| 3 | 2017-07-05 | Safety and efficacy of sodium and potassium alginate for pets, other non-food-producing animals and fish | technological additives | doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2017.4945 |
| 4 | 2022-03-23 | Safety and efficacy of a feed additive consisting of carrageenan for pets and other non-food-producing animals (Marinalg International) | technological additives | doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7285 |
| 5 | 2022-03-23 | Safety and efficacy of a feed additive consisting of agar for pets and non-food-producing animals (Hispanagar) | technological additives | doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7284 |
All five dossiers are issued under Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 (amended) — the EU regulatory framework for feed additives, which separates additives into technological (functional category covers preservatives / emulsifiers / gelling agents), sensory (flavouring compounds), nutritional (vitamins / minerals / amino acids), zootechnical (digestibility enhancers / gut flora stabilizers), and coccidiostats / histomonostats categories.
Distribution by FoodDomain
- technological additives: 4 (sodium bisulphate 2011 / alginate
2017 / carrageenan 2022 / agar 2022) — note that sodium bisulphate 2011 has broader "for all animal species" framing in the body but is retrieved by the strict pet-keyword filter due to the title's reference to pet species alongside livestock. The other 3 (alginate, carrageenan, agar) are explicitly "for pets, other non-food-producing animals and fish".
- sensory additives: 1 (L-cysteine 2013) — the only dedicated
flavouring substance evaluated explicitly for pets.
- nutritional additives: 0 — pet nutritional additive dossiers
are typically issued with "for all animal species" framing because vitamin / mineral / amino acid RDAs are largely species-agnostic in EFSA's framework.
Distribution by year
| Year | Count |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 1 (sodium bisulphate, broad species) |
| 2013 | 1 (L-cysteine, explicit pet) |
| 2017 | 1 (alginate, explicit pet) |
| 2022 | 2 (carrageenan + agar, explicit pet) |
The cluster of 2 dossiers in 2022-03-23 (carrageenan and agar) both come from hydrocolloid manufacturers (Marinalg International and Hispanagar respectively) and target the same functional category — gelling / thickening agents used in wet pet food and treats.
Why so few?
EFSA FEEDAP has issued 1333 dossiers in the OpenFoodTox 3.0 dataset spanning 2003-2024. Pet-specific dossiers (5 strict / 14 with broader keyword) represent 0.4% of FEEDAP output. Three structural reasons:
- FEEDAP is livestock-centric — the Panel's primary mandate is
feed for food-producing animals (cattle, pigs, poultry, fish). Pet food intersects with FEEDAP only when an additive is specifically applied to or evaluated for pet species.
- "For all animal species" framing — most pet-relevant dossiers
use generic "all animal species" wording in the title because safety thresholds for common additives (vitamins, minerals, preservatives) are species-agnostic under EU feed additive law.
- Pet food specific regulation — companion animal nutrition in
the EU is largely covered by Reg 999/2008 / Reg 1831/2003 and PARNUTS (Reg 2020/354), not by dedicated pet-food additive dossiers. The 5 dossiers above are exceptions where applicants sought explicit pet-food labelling or where the substance had species- specific safety concerns.
Source: toxicology/efsa/OFT3.0_export_repository.xlsx, sheet DOSSIER (11613 rows). Filter: Domain.ExpertGroup LIKE '%FEEDAP%' AND title regex for pets|for pet |pet food|petfood|companion animal. Total strict matches: 5 (Doi-unique). Broad matches (including "pesticide residue in pet food" and "recycling processes touching pet food packaging"): 14 unique Doi.